Corruption and legal methods of fighting it : the European Union policy towards the Central and Eastern European countries before and after the accession

Author:

Szarek, P.

Awarding Body:

University of Edinburgh

Current Institution:

University of Edinburgh

Date of Award:

2008

Availability of Full Text:

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Abstract:

The fight against corruption emerged as one of the most significant issues during the 2004 enlargement and gained even more importance with the accession of Romania and Bulgaria in 2007. This thesis examines the European Union (EU) policy against corruption in the context of the accession of the Central and Eastern European countries in 2004. Its prime objective is to illustrate the differences between EU policy towards existing Member States and the candidate countries in this area. The thesis outlines the legal bases and historical development of the EU anti-corruption framework, and goes on to show that the enlargement process has profoundly transformed this policy framework. It analyses how the fight against corruption became one of the EU membership criteria and explains that accession policy forced the EU to create new institutions and mechanisms to address the problem of corruption within the candidate countries. The thesis also argues that the experience gained by the EU in the 2004 accession led to a more robust anti-corruption stance during the accession of Bulgaria and Romania and will have implications for any future enlargements of the EU. However, the thesis further points at the limited nature of the anti-corruption framework that applies to existing Member States and argues that it does not respond to the urgent need to enhance anti-corruption standards within the EU. The thesis suggests that the EU should use the experience gained within the pre-accession process to develop a more coherent framework that would promote higher anti-corruption standards among Member States.